Pearl Harbor: From Infamy to Greatness

Arguing that modern America was born on December 7, 1941, historian Nelson (The Age of Radiance: The Epic Rise and Dramatic Fall of the Atomic Era) recounts the planning, conduct, and aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He begins by detailing the intrigues within Japan's ruling military and diplomatic circles that led to the decision to attack America and then itemizing the failures of leaders in Hawaii who ignored numerous warnings of the impending attack. Relying heavily on first-person accounts by participants from both sides of the conflict, the author captures at length the varying emotional impact of sudden victory or near-catastrophic defeat on very young men. Finally, Nelson proposes that the horrors of the war in the Pacific so shocked the world that nations have ever since desisted from large-scale conflicts. While this work is valuable for its exhaustive research and use of primary sources, ultimately there is nothing new here. Gordon W. Prange's At Dawn We Slept remains the key text for understanding Pearl Harbor. The narration by veteran George Guidall is superb, especially so in capturing the excitement and pathos of the survivor accounts.